36Cl, 26Al,and O isotopes in an Allende type B2 CAI: Implications for multiple secondary alteration events in the early solar system

Abstract— We measured ³⁶Cl‐³⁶S and ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg systematics and O isotopes of secondary phases in a moderately altered type B2 CAI (CAI#2) from the Allende CV3 chondrite. CAI#2 has two distinct alteration domains: the anorthite‐grossular (An‐Grs) domain that mostly consists of anorthite and grossular, and the Na‐rich domain that mostly consists of sodalite, anorthite, and Fe‐bearing phases. Large ³⁶S excesses (up to ～400‰) corresponding to an initial ³⁶Cl/³⁵Cl ratio of (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10^?6 were observed in sodalite of the Na‐rich domain, but no resolvable 26Mg excesses were observed in anorthite and sodalite of the Na‐rich domain (the initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio < 4.4 × 10^?7). If we assume that the ³⁶Cl‐³⁶S and the ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg systematics were closed simultaneously, the ³⁶Cl/³⁵Cl ratio would have to be on the order of ～10^?2 when CAIs were formed. In contrast to sodalite in Na‐rich domain, significant ²⁶Mg excesses (up to ～35‰) corresponding to an initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio of (1.2 ± 0.2) × 10^?5 were identified in anorthite of the An‐Grs domain. The ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg systematics of secondary phases in CAI#2 suggest that CAIs experienced multiple alteration events. Some of the alteration processes occurred while ³⁶Cl (half‐life is 0.3 Myr) and ²⁶Al (half‐life is 0.72 Myr) were still alive, whereas others took place much later. Assuming that ²⁶Al was homogeneously distributed in the solar nebula, our study implies that alteration of CAIs occurred as early as within 1.5 Myr of CAI formation and as late as 5.7 Myr after.     

Phototrophic activity and redox condition in Lake Hamana, Japan, indicated by sedimentary photosynthetic pigments and molybdenum over the last ∼250 years

We analyzed photosynthetic pigments, total organic carbon (TOC), biogenic silica, and Mo, a redox-sensitive element, in ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores to reconstruct the historical changes in primary productivity and anoxia in the central basin of Lake Hamana, a brackish lake in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, over the last 250 years. The algal photosynthetic pigments we analyzed included chlorophyll a (and its derivatives), chlorophyll b (and its derivatives), and carotenoids such as -carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, diatoxanthin, fucoxanthin, alloxanthin, and -carotene. Marker pigments for phototrophic sulfur bacteria were also recorded, including okenone and bacteriopheophytin a, originating from Chromatium (a genus of purple sulfur bacteria), and isorenieratene and bacteriochlorophylls e ₁, e ₂ and e ₃ (and corresponding bacteriopheophytins) from brown Chlorobium (a brown-colored group of green sulfur bacteria). The occurrence of these pigments throughout the length of all cores indicates that the anoxia in Lake Hamana has existed over at least the last 250 years. The indicators related to primary productivity – TOC and pigments of aerobic and anaerobic phototrophs – and an indicator of anoxia, Mo, increased after 1860, indicating that productivity had increased in both the oxic and anoxic (sulfidic) zones. The depth profiles of the indicators in the sediment cores showed that among phototrophic sulfur bacteria, Chromatium preferentially increased relative to brown Chlorobium when the lake productivity was high, and hence high anoxia existed in the lake. This can be explained by a shallowing of the oxic/anoxic boundary zone due to changes in temporal and/or spatial extents of seasonal anoxia, which made the light intensity in the upper anoxic zone high enough for Chromatium to grow. The upper Chromatium layer may absorb the wavelengths of light that favor the growth of brown Chlorobium in the water column, resulting in a relative decrease in brown Chlorobium. During the 1950s, the trends among the indicators changed significantly. This change is attributed to the construction of training walls, built to direct tidal currents into the lake, on the Imagire-guchi Channel, the sole inlet of seawater to the lake, during 1954–1956, and the resultant increases of seawater intrusion and lake salinity. A decrease in okenone and bacteriopheophytin a, or in okenone/isorenieratene ratio, after 1960 accompanying a decrease in Mo, is attributed to a deepening of the anoxic zone, where the light intensity became too low for growth of Chromatium, more light-demanding than the brown Chlorobium. A decrease of zeaxanthin (cyanobacteria) after 1960 relative to lutein (green algae) and diatoxanthin (diatoms and dinoflagellates) indicated a change in algal assemblage, presumably due to the increased salinity. Principal component analysis with a data set of total algal carotenoids, okenone, isorenieratene, and Mo also suggested that a major change occurred around the 1950s.     

Effects of deposit feeder Stichopus japonicus on algal bloom and organic matter contents of bottom sediments of the enclosed sea

Algae growing in an enclosed sea may inhibit eutrophication because they absorb nutrients in the water. However, dead algae often cause anaerobic conditions in the water just above and on sediment after they are deposited on the bottom. We found that Stichopus japonicus inhibited the anaerobic processes coupling water sulfite production in sediment. The present study investigates whether S. japonicus inhibits algal flourish and influences sediment properties such as organic matter contents. Aquarium experiments were carried out at Komatsushima port in Tokushima Prefecture, western Japan. The aquaria used in the experiments were supplied with water directly from the adjacent sea (6 L/min), laid with sand of 10 cm depths, and lighted at 12 h intervals. Six aquaria each containing a sea cucumber from Komatsushima port and six aquaria without any were used in the experiments. Water temperature ranged between 9 and 15 degrees C during December 2000 and April 2001. Salinity ranged between 32 per thousand and 34 per thousand. Algae began to cover the bottom of the aquaria without S. japonicus after 2 weeks, whereas no growth was evident in the aquaria containing sea cucumbers. Chlorophyll a concentration in the surface sediment of the aquaria with S. japonicus (6.1+/-3.6 microg/g, mean S.D.+/-standard deviation) was significantly lower than that without it (60+/-17 microg/g, U-test, p<0.05). Phaeophytin concentration in the surface sediment of the aquaria with S. japonicus (0.9+/-0.09 microg/g) was also significantly lower than that without it (4.5+/-1.0 microg/g, U-test, p<0.05). TOC concentration in the surface sediment of the aquaria with S. japonicus (2.6+/-1.3 microg/g) was slightly lower than that without it (4.0+/-1.2 microg/g). These results showed that algal biomass and organic matter concentration of the bottom were decreased in the presence of S. japonicus. Therefore, S. japonicus inhibits algal bloom and decrease the contents of organic matter deposited on the bottom of enclosed sea areas.     

Interstadial coral reef terraces and relative sea-level changes during marine oxygen isotope stages 3–4, Kikai Island, central Ryukyus, Japan

Coral reef terraces are one of the best recorders of relative sea-level changes during the last glacial cycle. Thus far, knowledge of relative sea-level record based on coral reefs during the marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 3 has been limited to studies of the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. High-precision a α-spectrometric ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dating demonstrated an offlapping sequence of five coral reef complexes, ages of which are 66, 64, 62, 55 and 52 ka, in the northern part of Kikai Island, central Ryukyus of Japan. Interstadial reefs, characterized by deepening-upward sequences of coral assemblages, recorded three hemicycles from transgression to highstand at 52, 62, and 66 ka, during which these reefs were drowned. These highstands in the relative sea-level record can be correlated with the eustatic record reconstructed from the Huon reef terraces and with the interstadials 14, 18, and 19 of the GISP 2 oxygen isotope record. This consistency confirms the Huon sea-level record of OIS 3 and implies that the eustatic sea level responded to the millennial-scale climate changes even during the glacial period of OIS 4.     

Fractal size and spatial distributions of fault zones: An investigation into the seismic Chelungpu Fault, Taiwan

Abstract   The fractality of fault zones of thickness T for the 248-m-long core from a borehole penetrating the northern segment of the seismic Chelungpu Fault, Taiwan, was analyzed. The frequency curve of T shows that the fractal dimension is normal when T is smaller than a characteristic thickness T _c, and it becomes abnormally large when T exceeds T _c. The fractal dimensions of size and spatial distributions of T increase as the mean distribution density of T increases, which is inconsistent with the evolution laws for ordinary brittle faults. This discrepancy implies that the thickening rate of T when T is more than T _c is not constant, but a decreasing function of fault displacement. The slow thickening rate is related to the elastohydrodynamic lubrication which was effective on the fault when T exceeds T _c. This slip instability mechanism can explain the large, fast and smooth slip on the northern segment of the Chelungpu Fault during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake.     

Clayey injection veins and pseudotachylyte from two boreholes penetrating the Chelungpu Fault, Taiwan: Their implications for the contrastive seismic slip behaviors during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake

Abstract   The seismic slip that occurred during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan showed contrastive behaviors in different regions along the Chelungpu Fault: A large and smooth slip occurred in the north, while a relatively small slip associated with high-frequency seismic wave radiation occurred in the south. The core samples from shallow boreholes at northern (Fengyuan) and southern (Nantou) sites penetrating the seismic Chelungpu Fault were analyzed. The fault zones at the northern site are characterized by soft clayey material associated with clayey injection veins. This suggests that the fault zones were pressurized during ancient seismic slip events, and hence the elastohydrodynamic lubrication occurred effectively. In contrast, the fault rock from the southern site is old pseudotachylyte that has been shattered by repeated ancient seismic slip events. Statistical analysis of many pseudotachylyte fragments reveals that the degree of frictional melting tended to be low. In this case, the seismic slip is restrained by the mechanical barrier of a highly viscous melt layer. These contrastive fault rocks were produced by repeated ancient seismic slip events, but the two corresponding mechanisms of friction are likely to have also occurred during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, thus causing the contrastive slip behaviors in the north and south.     

Uranium and Thorium Isotope Distribution in an Offshore Bottom Sediment Core of the Selenga Delta, Lake Baikal, Siberia

Distribution of uranium and thorium isotopes in a short sediment core obtained offshore of the Selenga Delta in Lake Baikal, Siberia, was investigated to establish their sedimentary behaviors and to look for a linkage to paleoenvironmental changes. The sediments were composed of dominantly fine detrital materials (70–85%) and a relatively high sedimentation rate (ca. 0.03 cm y⁻¹). The depth profile of ²³⁸U content in bulk sediment samples showed a large variation of 70–123 Bq kg⁻¹, while ²³²Th profile showed a relatively narrow range from 36 to 56 Bq kg⁻¹. The observed ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratios revealed a marked disequilibrium ranging from 1.53 to 1.84 with a mean value of 1.71 ± 0.07, demonstrating the presence of 50–80% authigenic ²³⁸U in the bulk sediments. The distribution of this authigenic ²³⁸U did not display any clear correlation with variations in sediment composition (organic, carbonate, Bio-SiO₂ and mineral contents) including grain size median. The profile of terrigenous ²³⁸U showed a relatively similar pattern to that of ²³²Th. Results of sequential leaching indicate that ²³⁸U in Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides fractions were responsible for the distribution of authigenic ²³⁸U rather than in Bio-SiO₂ fraction. The distribution of authigenic ²³⁸U in the bottom sediments may be explained by the fluctuation of U adsorption capacity on particles including organic matter and Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides before they entered the lake. This study highlights the potential use of authigenic and terrigenous U (Th) signatures in sediments to trace the behavior of U (Th) and to reconstruct environmental (e.g., hydrological) changes in the lake catchment area.     

230Th/234U and 14C dating of a lowstand coral reef beneath the insular shelf off Irabu Island, Ryukyus, southwestern Japan

Abstract   High-resolution seismic reflection profiles delineated the distribution of mound-shaped reflections, which were interpreted as reefs, beneath the insular shelf western off Irabu Island, Ryukyus, southwestern Japan. A sediment core through one of the mounded structures was recovered from the sea floor at a depth of −118.2 m by offshore drilling and was dated by radiometric methods. The lithology and coral fauna of the core indicate that the mounded structure was composed of coral–algal boundstone suggesting a small-scaled coral reef. High-precision α-spectrometric ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dating coupled with calibrated accelerator mass spectrometric ¹⁴C ages of corals obtained reliable ages of this reef ranging from 22.18 ± 0.63 to 30.47 ± 0.98 ka. This proves that such a submerged reef was formed during the lowstand stage of marine oxygen isotope stages 3–2. The existence of low-Mg calcite in the aragonitic coral skeleton of 22.18 ± 0.63 ka provides evidence that the reef had once been exposed by lowering of the relative sealevel to at least −126 m during the last glacial maximum in the study area. There is no room for doubt that a coral reef grew during the last glacial period on the shelf off Irabu Island of Ryukyus in the subtropical region of western Pacific.     

Phase F,a new hydrous magnesium silicate synthesized at 1000 °C and 17 GPa: Crystal structure and estimated bulk modulus

The structure of phase F, a non-stoichiometric hydrous silicate synthesized in a uniaxial, split-sphere, multi-anvil apparatus at conditions of 17 GPa and 1000° C, has been solved and refined in space group P6₃cm, using synchrotron X-ray data for a single crystal of a size 18 × 24 × 30 μm. The composition and unit cell for phase F are Mg_3.35Si_5.51H_7.26O₁₈, a=5.073(3) Å, c=14.013(9) Å, 7= 312.3(5) ų. The structure contains layers with many similarities to superhydrous phase B. The layers of oxygen atoms are stacked in the ABCBAC-type double cubic closest packing arrangement. The bulk modulus of phase F was estimated from the structural and compositional relationship to superhydrous phase B and periclase.